Kippenberger   

Published spring 2008, Albrecht Fuchs’ selection of photographs entitled »Portraits« has been nominated for the »Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2008«. The press had already reacted euphorically to the publication of this book with large photographic spreads (in »Die Welt« and the »Frankfurter Rundschau«), crowning the photographer from Cologne the »artists’ darling«.
The fact that this is by no means an exaggeration is illustrated amply by the catalytic, initial series of photographs that Albrecht Fuchs took of Martin Kippenberger during 1995. He accompanied him to Dawson City, to his studio or to the Black Forest and in so doing, served his »apprenticeship as a photographer«, as he puts it. This huge phenomenon Kippenberger – constantly photographed everywhere, fine for many an excellent photographic idea, spontaneous and funny, as many erroneously suppose – did indeed understand his photogenic power very well and used this calculatedly in his dealings with photographers to tease out the most faithful representation of his idea. That wasn’t posing as such, and the degree to which Albrecht Fuchs has allowed himself to be inspired by this process has aided the photographer to find his own independent and sensitive style of portraiture. The book is published in a special format, carefully printed and finished, in a small, limited and signed edition numbering 800 copies, of which 30 are reserved for a deluxe edition with three Kippenberger motifs.